Sugar and Spice
by Satanic Mechanic
Summary: A baking contest turns Domino High into a competitive frenzy.What effect will this have on everyone's favorite CEO and a certainunderdog in the competition? Kaijou.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Sugar and Spice (1/7)

Author: Satanic Mechanic

Rating: PG-13

Pairing(s): Seto/Jou, slight Otogi/Honda

Beta: Jennie

Spoilers: None

Summary: A baking contest turns Domino High into a competitive frenzy.  
What effect will this have on everyone's favorite CEO and a certain  
underdog in the competition?

Notes: This was written for the a challenge over at adragonslair. I'd figure I'd post it here because I haven't updated anything in awhile…and this is the only thing I have finished. Please except my humble Christmas themed offering! Updates should be daily, unless I forget…so with that said, enjoy!

Domino City was just one of those places, where the most impossibly ridiculous things happened. No one really seemed to question when caped men appeared all over town, droning on like zombies. People had almost forgotten about the time when monsters ran rampant in the city. If you could make it here, you could make it anywhere, as long as you weren't afraid of being possessed by some ancient spirit from 3000 years ago.

It really shouldn't have come as a surprise when Domino High announced, in Jounouchi's humble opinion, one of its strangest and most ridiculous events yet – a baking contest for the Christmas season. It wasn't really all that extreme, just a bit strange, considering the high school didn't usually get too involved with that kind of stuff. What was really bothering the blonde, however, was the way his class was taking the whole thing.

"Dude, I am so going to own you."

"Pft, whatever. My grandma game me this killer dumpling recipe that is going to blow your rice crisps out of the water!"

Jou groaned and plopped his head down on his desk a little harder then necessary. This had to be the tenth argument he had heard involving the baking contest that morning. The whole school was getting riled up over the event. About baking! Had Duel Monsters turned the majority of the teenage population so competitive that now they were making a big deal out of baking? It boggled his fragile young mind.

"Hey Jou! Guess what?" Yugi came bounding up to the hunched over boy. His wild hair was dyed red and green, and he was still wearing his usual collar, but there was a jingle bell attached to it. Basically, he looked like Christmas had thrown up on him.

"You got a cool new super ultra mega rare card to show me?" Jou perked up as his friend smiled, eager to hear something else besides what the perfect amount of time to bake rice crisps was, and the best sugary frosting.

"No silly, I just registered for the Christmas baking contest!" Yugi beamed. Silly? Since when did Yugi call him 'silly'? Now that he thought about it, between the festive new hair style and the way that his friend had been acting lately, he was guessing that maybe the boy had drank just a little too much eggnog.

"Me too!" Anzu came up from behind. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"You people are pathetic," drawled out a deep voice from behind the group. Damn straight! Jou turned around to face the man, just so he could shake his hand.

"Oh, hi Kaiba," Jou replied blandly. Maybe the handshaking thing was a bit overboard.

Kaiba glanced at him for a minute, regarding him with the same expression he probably reserved for road kill and other such unpleasant things. After the brunette was done ignoring the greeting, he turned to regard Yugi. "Honestly I'm a bit disappointed in you. I thought you had more honor than to buy into such a ridiculous thing."

Yugi frowned, not really looking hurt, but just a little disappointed. "So you're not entering, Kaiba-kun?"

He snorted. "I'd rather drop dead where I stand."

That could be arranged, Jou mused as he watched the display, grateful that he was being ignored by his favorite asshole for the moment. It wouldn't do to say…strangle Kaiba with the various strands of tinsel decorating the classroom so close to the holidays; Santa might put him on his 'naughty' list.

"Oh, that's too bad. But I guess you must just be afraid of losing to me again," came the confident retort.

Kaiba was in the process of walking away when he stopped midstep, immediately recognizing the change in tone. "Is that…a challenge?" Kaiba asked meaningfully, turning around to glare down at the shorter duelist…who was now substantially taller then he was a few moments ago.

"If that's what you want it to be…" the taller Yugi replied nonchalantly as he studied his fingernails with some sort of interest, oblivious, or at least wanting to appear oblivious, to the fact that Seto was now glaring at him with daggers in his eyes.

"Very well Yugi, but I'm warning you, this isn't Duel Monsters. You don't know who you're messing with!" Kaiba spat out the last part with extra venom before storming out of the class room, leaving in his wake a trail of swooning girls.

Jou sighed, a little disappointed at losing his only ally, even if it was someone he couldn't stand, against the abhorrent contest.

"Jou, I should probably mention that I took the liberty of signing you up for the contest earlier, as well."

"You what?"

"There's no point in trying to back out now. As far as I know, you can't leave the contest once you have joined."

Jou sighed again, surprised that his friend would do such a thing with this consent, but then again he could be a bit fickle at times. He figured it probably had to do with the strange spirit that lurked inside the puzzle, not someone he typically enjoyed arguing with.

"Just peachy…" Jou groaned as he rested his head on his arm.

"I figured you needed to get more into the holiday spirit," was the only explanation offered.

Jou moaned and plopped his head back down on the desk once more, a place where his forehead was beginning to feel quite welcome. He really would have liked to, but growing up in his household, Christmas was not necessarily a special day, except for maybe that all the bill collectors were off from work that day leaving the house call-free. "Well I guess there are worse things I could be doing a week before Christmas." Like caroling, he reminded himself. Last year Yugi had decided that would be a good idea, and suffice it to say the neighborhood didn't really appreciate the blonde's singing, or 'howling', as some people had called it. He supposed Kaiba would have really enjoyed the analogy, had he been there.

His only culinary experience to date was boiling two minute ramen, and he trusted himself in the kitchen about as much as he trusted a gun in the hands of a madman. This was going to be interesting.

Yami crossed his arms and smirked, satisfied that he had done his part for the day, and blowing a wild green bang out of his face as he did so. "Yugi…what the hell did you do to your hair?"

……………

The always-fascinating study of chemistry was interrupted by a loud beep. The teacher quieted down the class, then yelled at Jounouchi, so that they could listen to the speaker in the corner of the classroom.

"Due to the overwhelming response to our first Christmas baking contest, I'm afraid there will have to be a change in plans." The class immediately hushed, looking up at the speaker as if the fate of the world was about to be announced. "Since we had so many applications, the competition will now be held in pairs. Please stop by the auditorium after classes to sign up with your partner." The room was filled with noise again as everyone began making plans with their partners, thinking it was a great idea.

"The rules of the event are as follows: Starting tomorrow, you will have a week to work with your partner to produce as many quality goods as you can. On Christmas Eve, there will be a sale held at Domino High, and whichever team sells the most will be declared the winner. We'd also like to mention, that due to the large turnout, the winners of the competition will receive a cash prize of ten thousand yen to split!" the principal announced with enthusiasm as the entire room erupted with excitement. Even Jou was beginning to get hyped up now. Five thousand yen would be enough to get all of his friends something nice for Christmas, as well as a little extra something on the side for himself.

"Hey, Yugi…" Jou turned to his friend, only to find Anzu latched around his neck. "Wanna be partners…" he trailed off, already knowing he was fighting a losing battle if the predatory glint in Anzu's eye was any indication.

"Sorry Jou…I just promised Anzu that I'd work with her." Yugi frowned.

"Ah, it's alright man, I'll just have to catch up with Honda later and try to snag him," he replied, confident in the fact that people were probably just as interested in pairing up with his knuckle head of a friend in a baking contest as they would be with him.

Soon after the announcement that had sent the entire school into hysteria, class was dismissed for lunch break. Jou scoured the lunch room looking for his friend, and he finally caught up with him in the sweets line. Tapping him on the shoulder he asked, "Hey man, did you sign up for the stupid contest?"

"Yeah," Honda sighed, "That prize sounds pretty sweet. Who knew Domino had that kind of money to give out?"

"So what do you say? You and me? We could totally pull this off, we've done it in worse situations," Jou grinned.

"Sorry Jou…me and Otogi already signed up together," Honda frowned, knowing that the blonde wasn't going to be too happy.

"Dice boy? Why the hell would you go and do a thing like that?"

"That dice boy has talents outside of creating games." Jou gave him a strange look, watching as his friend's face flushed an interesting color. "Er…not that I would know or anything like that."

It seemed that everyone in the school had already chosen their partner, and Jou was beginning to feel like the last kid picked in gym class. There was one person left, one person who he knew couldn't have had anyone to team up with, so Jou put up his brave-face and made his way over to the dark corner of the lunch room, an area where most students rarely went, if they knew what was best for them.

"Hi Kaiba!" Jou spoke in the sunniest tone he could muster. Kaiba looked up at him for a second, narrowing his eyes before turning back to his work. "Um well, I just have a question. I know that you signed up for the contest, and I don't have a partner yet, so I was wondering if…"

"Why would I want to group myself in with an incompetent individual such as yourself?" Kaiba snapped, answering the question before it had even been asked. Jou had to clinch his fist in order to not flip out, considering this was his last hope at winning the 5000 yen prize.

"Kaiba, think about it. You're in this to beat Yugi, right? What else would be better than not only beating him, but doing it with his best friend by your side?" Jou offered, knowing that the straightest way to Kaiba's heart was by giving him a one-up on his opponent, awakening his vengeance woody, so to speak. He was not really proud of the fact that he was roping Yugi into this, but he was getting really desperate.

"Hn." Kaiba closed the book he was reading. There it was, the idea was computing successfully, all Jou had to do now was cross his fingers and wait for a response. "I can see the advantage in that. I suppose I could do worse you for a partner," Kaiba said as he sneered at the many giggling girls that always walked past his table a bit slower than need be. "But might I ask why you are so willing to help me out-do your friend?"

"I really need the cash prize," Jou said and grinned. "He'll thank me later when he gets the new DVD player he wanted for Christmas."

"I see."

"Great then, um, I'll meet you after school to discuss the plan of action or whatever," Jou said, receiving a curt nod from Kaiba, then quickly proceeded to make his way towards the other side of the lunchroom. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be working with him of all people, but he had to admit, having Kaiba on his side for anything had to be an asset. Besides, it was only a week away from Christmas, time to spread joy and goodwill to thy neighbor and whatnot. Kaiba couldn't possibly be a worldclass prick now, right? How hard could it be?

………..

Jou grumbled as he gathered his books from his locker. What kind of evil teachers would give so much homework at the start of Christmas break? His teachers, he reminded himself. This day just kept getting better and better. He had practically had a heart attack earlier today when the tree in the main lobby had fallen on Yugi, then restraining Yami with all his might to keep him from banishing it to the shadow realm as they fought to get him out. Perhaps Kaiba could have been more helpful if he wasn't looking like he was about to break into hysterical laughter at any moment. "Kaiba!" Jou jumped as he closed the door to his locker, turning to see Seto Kaiba looming over him. "Geez, don't scare me like that. What are you, a damned ninja?"

"I couldn't wait all day for you to find me, so I came here."

"How did you know where my locker was anyway?"

"I have my ways," Kaiba replied flatly as Jou's mouth hung open. Maybe that earlier ninja comment of his wasn't so far off, or maybe he just really was a psycho. Jou shook his head and hoisted his bag over his shoulder.

"So, how do you wanna do this? We could meet at my house or…what are you looking at?" Jou flushed as he followed Kaiba's gaze, landing very dangerously close to his crotch.

"Is that a candy cane in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Seto smirked, and Jou blinked a few times before he realized he was talking about the oversized candy cane that had been given to him earlier by a classmate. He had stuck it in his pocket for safekeeping.

"Do you mind? I haven't really had a good day, so if you could just keep your smartass comments to yourself…" Kaiba blinked slowly as Jou went off on his tirade, waving the aforementioned candy cane around for emphasis. Kaiba was about to open his mouth to tell him to shut up when he found something thick and slightly sweet lodged in his mouth.

"And you wanna know something…else…" Jou trailed off, realizing what he had just done, having been absently waving around the candy cane as though it was the reason for all his recent misfortunes. For a moment they had just stared at each other, Jou wide eyed at what he had actually just done, and Kaiba looking quite annoyed. "Uh…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just whip it out like that!" Jou slapped his forehead as he realized how that had sounded. "Look, I really have to be going, so why don't we just talk about this tomorrow? Okay? Bye!" Jou spoke quickly before scuttling off in the crowd before Kaiba could reply.

Seto stood there for a moment, trying to contemplate exactly what he had just gotten himself into, pairing himself up with a scatterbrain like the mutt. It was understandable how a few passersby were a bit confused to see the CEO in such an interesting predicament. "Peppermint…" he commented to no one in particular as he pulled the candy out of his mouth with an audible 'pop'.

……….

Jou had stopped by the public library after school, trying to forget about the spectacle he had made out of himself in front of his future partner in crime. At least it had shut him up, he reminded himself. He had spent a good three hours studying whatever books he could find on baking, taking notes and making copies on the photocopier. Three hours, and he still didn't know a damned thing about what the hell he was doing. His only hope now was that maybe Kaiba would be his normal obsessive-compulsive self and take over the project, leaving Jou no room to screw anything up.

Walking up the steps to his apartment, Jou thought that maybe he could do some practicing at home, if he could find enough suitable ingredients. The blonde reached up into the mailbox, finding the usual bills, second notice bill statements, and court date notices for unpaid bills. He frowned as he felt something plastic and pulled it out of the metal box.

"What the…" Jou stuttered out as he read the bottle. It was lube -- chocolate flavored lube to be exact. Was this someone's idea of a joke? He turned it over and found a tag attached to the red ribbon tied around the plastic bottle. "Secret…admirer? Who would want to secretly admire me?" Jou raised his eyebrow and jumped as the front door came swinging open.

"Ah, good boy, give me the mail," Jou's dad smiled as the blonde handed him the bundle, immediately sifting through the pile, taking out the bills and tossing them on the floor somewhere. "Eh…what's that?" the older man questioned as he noticed what the blonde was holding, staring down at it like it was a stick of dynamite ready to explode.

"This? Um…it's chocolate milk! See?" Jou grinned as he opened up the cap and squeezed some of the liquid into his mouth, grimacing as it crawled down his throat at a slow speed.

"Alright…" The man gave his son a strange look before heading inside. Jou followed suit, but not before he re-read the words 'from your secret admirer' about twenty times, as if the name of the person was suddenly going to appear in bright flashing letters in front of his eyes.


	2. chapter 2

Title: Sugar and Spice (2/?)

Author: Satanic Mechanic

Rating: PG-13

Pairing(s): Seto/Jou, slight Otogi/Honda

Beta: Jennie

Spoilers: None

Summary: A baking contest turns Domino High into a competitive frenzy.  
What effect will this have on everyone's favorite CEO and a certain  
underdog in the competition?

Christmas was always a busy time for Kaiba Corp, and Seto Kaiba drove to his estate feeling exhausted. He cursed himself for taking on the extra work of the ridiculous contest on top of school and work, but he simply couldn't let Yugi get the best of him once more. "Mokuba?" he called into the quiet mansion. Usually he could hear his little brother in the living room watching tv, playing games, or on the rare occasion, doing his homework without being told. "Mokuba?!" he called out louder, and not being able to find him in any of the first floor rooms, he headed for the stairs. He may have been panicking just a bit, but having had his little brother kidnapped more times than he could count on one hand could cause anyone to be paranoid.

There was a slight shuffling noise coming from the door to Seto's room, so he headed in that direction. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst before kicking open the door. He found Mokuba hunched over the foot of his bed, blinking up at him like a deer caught in headlights.

"Uh…Hi Seto, you're home early…" Mokuba giggled nervously.

Relief washed over the brunette, only to be replaced by a fresh wave of panic as he realized just what Mokuba was hunching over. "Mokuba…what are you doing?"

"Well, I was snooping around for my Christmas presents…" The boy flinched as he caught the disapproving glare coming from his brother, but pressed on, knowing that he had Seto backed into more of a corner than vise-versa, "But I never expected to find this…" Mokuba grinned down at the large opened chest at the foot of Seto's bed. It was the same chest that Seto had hidden the boy's Playstation 2 in a year ago when he had punished the younger boy. Little did he know, Mokuba was quite the skilled hunter.

"Get away from there," Seto ordered, taking a few steps closer to the boy, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I always knew you were a big softie deep down, Seto!" Mokuba beamed, ignoring the order and reaching into the chest to pull out a small brown plushie. "But Kuriboh? I thought you hated that monster."

Seto scowled and walked over to Mokuba's side. "I do. The fans send these things to me."

"Mmm hmm, if you say so." The boy grinned and placed the Kuriboh back into the chest, which was filled to the brim with various fluffy Duel Monsters. "I think this one is the cutest," Mokuba cooed as he pulled out a large Blue-eyes White Dragon plushie, running his finger over the smooth red ribbon tied around the neck.

"Put Blue back," Seto replied sternly, watching as Mokuba tossed the stuffed animal in the air and caught it expertly. "Now."

"Blue? Is that his name? How very original of you," Mokuba smirked before jumping up and squeaking, barely evading the Scapegoat that was thrown at his head.

…………..

"So Seto, I really liked that Celtic Guardian plushie. Can I have it?" Mokuba asked as he finished swallowing his food, looking up to see his brother seated at the other side of the table immersed in the daily newspaper, holding it up as a make-shift barrier.

"I thought we agreed not so speak of that subject." The newspaper twitched as Seto turned the page.

"Maybe you did, but I plan on holding that over your head for a long time to come." Mokuba giggled and shoveled some more rice into his mouth.

"Well, since you're so keen on the subject, why don't we talk about what you think you were doing looking around in my personal things in the first place?" Seto folded the paper down, allowing Mokuba to see his face, and the vein on the side of his neck that always popped out when he was annoyed.

"Eh…I'm sorry brother, I was just really eager to see my presents and I knew that's where you hide that kind of top-secret stuff."

"Devious little thing."

"I learned from the best," Mokuba shrugged, "So, I heard some stuff about a baking contest at your school. What's that all about?" the boy asked, deciding on a change of topic before Seto saw fit to take something away from him again as punishment. He couldn't afford to lose his Playstation again, seeing as how Seto would have to find a new hiding spot.

"Everyone is quite excited about it. I suppose they'll be disappointed when they lose to me."

Mokuba almost spit out his milk at that. "You entered?"

"Is that such a surprise?"

"Yes!" Mokuba threw up his hands, "It is a partner thing right?"

"Yes."

"…and, you do realize that you're…not much for the 'partner thing', right?" Mokuba asked in bewilderment.

Seto snorted, "Yes. Unfortunately, I got the short end of the deal in that department."

"Who? Anzu, or maybe Honda ?"

"Worse."

"Jounouchi?" Mokuba gasped , naming off Number One on the list of people who ranked on his brother's 'stupidity' list.

"Hn." Seto took a small bite of chicken before turning back to the stocks.

"Geez…" Mokuba poked at his rice absently, his mind running wild with all the things that could possibly go wrong with that scenario. "Well, just try to be patient, and I'm sure everything will turn out alright."

"Yes, thank you for your wonderful insight. Now, shall we discuss your punishment?"

Mokuba groaned.

…………..

"Mutt."

"Kaiba? Where'd you get this number?"

"Connections." Seto rolled his eyes when he heard the dead silence on the other end,. Obviously, between yesterday's locker incident and now this, Jou was truly begging to think he had cameras following him. "It's called the phonebook," he tried again, this time hearing a small intake of breath.

"Oh, ok." Jou laughed awkwardly. "So, um, what's up?"

"In the midst of your eloquent exit today, you forgot that we on't have school tomorrow, so we couldn't possibly make plans then."

"Oh right…stupid me," Jou replied lightly.

"Yes, stupid you. So, how about 6 pm at my house tomorrow night?"

"Alright, fine."

Seto hung up the phone and turned to see Mokuba bounding towards him, a huge pile of mail under one arm. "We got lots of Christmas cards, brother!"

"Hm, mostly from all the ass-kissers at work. Put them next to the fire wood," Seto replied flatly as he put on his reading glasses, filing through the various letters.

"That's not nice! Let's hang them up, make this place seem a little more Christmassy!"

"Fine, go get some tape, and by the way, 'christmassy' is not a word," Seto caved and Mokuba cheered.

"Oh yeah, check this one out. Weird looking, huh?" Mokuba came back with a roll of tape from the kitchen and handed his brother a glittery red envelope from the pile with only the words 'To: Seto' written on it, no address or stamp. Seto eyed it suspiciously, but Mokuba only seemed intrigued. "Open it!" The brunette complied and gasped at what he saw.

"Oh my g….Mokuba cover your eyes!" The raven haired boy ducked as Seto tried to shield his innocence.

"It's Jou!" Mokuba exclaimed, laughing out loud , while Seto looked like he had just seen a ghost…a very sexy ghost if the blush on his cheeks was any indication.

"Where would one even buy a thong like that?" Seto scowled down at the picture. Jou was laid out on satin sheets, wearing nothing but a barely-there red thong decorated with little dancing reindeer, and atop his head a fluffy Santa's hat. On the bottom of the picture was a small note that read : 'I want you to ring my jingle bells', to which Seto promptly choked on his coffee after reading.

"I can't believe Jou would do something like this," Mokuba gasped between peals of laughter.

"I'm guessing he didn't; this must be some kind of photo-touch up. But who would play a joke like that?" Mokuba shrugged, both of their gazes remaining fixed on the picture until Seto snapped back to reality. "Hey! I told you not to look!" Mokuba giggled before running off.

…………

Jou glanced around his room, wondering what to pack for this interesting little excursion. True, he was only going over Kaiba's house for a night, and just to bake crap, but he felt somehow vulnerable going over there without anything. He figured that the rich boy would have all the supplies they would need, so he wouldn't have to worry about that. He did have a few books that he had taken out of the library that might be useful, so he threw those in his school bag. And some snacks, because one can never have too many snacks. There was a baseball bat in the corner of the room that caught his eye that could definitely be useful, if there was anyone who needed a swift hit to the head, it was Kaiba, but he shook his head and continued looking around.

His gaze landed on the bottle of lube on his dresser. That was something that he definitely didn't need to go to Kaiba's…hell just thinking about 'lube' and 'Kaiba' in the same sentence made his stomach turn. He wasn't even sure why he had kept the damned thing in the first place, it was just a cheap gift from some pervert. Throwing it in his bag, Jou supposed he could dispose of it on his way to Kaiba's, not feeling comfortable leaving it in the house where his dad might find it.

Taking a quick glance in the mirror, Jou noticed that his hair was flat and smooth and neat looking for once. He growled slightly and flipped his head over, running his hands though it viciously before picking his head back up. "That's better," Jou grinned back at his reflection, wild blonde mop back in all its glory, before heading out the door.

………

Glancing at his watch Jou noticed three things: one, he was going to be late; two, he was definitely out of breath; and three, it was freaking cold as hell. The blonde plopped down on the sidewalk and took a juice box from his bookbag, gulping it down quickly. He had definitely misjudged the distance from his house to Kaiba's. He looked down the road to see the mansion looming over the rest of the buildings, not more than a few blocks away. Jou sat up, grunting at the pain in his side and began running again.

"You're late," Seto replied flatly as he answered the door, looking down at a panting, hunched over Jou.

"Sorry, I had to walk here." Run would really have been the better term, but Kaiba was a smart guy and could probably figure that out from the way the blonde was practically coughing up a lung on his front steps.

"Hn. Come inside." Seto opened the door wider, allowing the weary blonde to step into the warm interior.

"Thanks," Jou muttered as the brunette held the door for him. With out much greeting, Seto began walking through the labyrinth of a house while Jou obediently followed.

"Here we are." Seto lead the boy into the large kitchen, all kinds of ingredients and appliances set out on the glistening white counter tops. "Planning a camping trip?" Seto asked as he finally noticed the bag Jou had slung over his shoulder.

"Shut up. It's just some stuff I brought."

"I see. What kind of stuff?"

"Well…let's see…" Jou zipped open the bag, taking the snacks out first. Seto smirked slightly, but didn't say anything. He then pulled out several books.

"Ah, these could help…" Seto remarked thoughtfully as he flipped through a few of the recipe books.

"Yeah and…" Jou froze in horror as he realized what had just slipped out of the bag. He must have been so caught up in getting to Kaiba's house that he had forgotten to get rid of it.

"Jounouchi?"

"Huh?" the blonde squeaked out in a higher octave than he would have liked.

"What are you doing with chocolate flavored lube?"

Jou blinked up at Kaiba, whose face remained relatively blank, with just a hint of amusement glinting in his eyes. He supposed his 'hey, it's chocolate milk!' approach wasn't going to work this time. In a way, he was somewhat grateful for that because he really didn't want to swallow another mouthful of that stuff. "Oh that…well um, that is…" the blonde stuttered out, looking down at the tiled floor with interest.

"It's a nice gesture, but you're really not my type," Seto smirked as he saw the flush on Jou's face grow.

"Asshole," Jou grumbled as the grabbed the bottle and shoved it back into the bag quickly.

"Well, let's get down to business then," Seto said as he watched Jou pout, red cheeks signifying his embarrassment. He reached down and picked up his trademark metal briefcase, putting it on the table and snapping it open. "I figured we'd do some sugar cookies and other American recipes, and then some traditional mochi and…." Jou tried not to laugh as Seto used a pointer to indicate the different graphs that he had printed out. "What are you grinning at?"

"This," Jou waved his arms in the direction of Kaiba and his briefcase of doom. "We're not planning a global takeover here, we're just baking."

"Well, excuse me for trying to be organized," Seto scoffed.

"You're excused." Jou reached down and pulled one last item out his bag, draping it over his neck before tying it around his back. "What?"

"Where did you get such a frilly apron?" Jou looked down at the pink and white-laced apron he had on and frowned.

"It was the only one in the house! I don't want to get my clothes all dirty."

"I think it's a little too late for that," Seto stated as he poked a small, red stain on the blonde's sleeve.

"Ah, can it, will ya? Let's get stared already." Seto nodded his head, enjoying the usual bickering, but knowing that they would never get anything done if it continued. He was still in this to win after all.

"Here, measure 3 cups of this into the mixing bowl, I'll go get some eggs." Jou nodded and took the bag of flour, setting it on the table. He pulled at the top first, but it wouldn't come open, he tried pulling harder but he only succeeded in splintering a nail.

"Ah, shit!" Jou hissed as his finger bled a bit, sticking it into his mouth.

"What seems to be the problem?" Seto sighed grimly as he walked over to where Jou was, thumb in his mouth and bag of flour still sitting unopened on the counter. "Can you not even handle the most simple of tasks? Give it here."

Jou yelped and yanked the flour out of the other man's reach in a spastic display. "No! I can do it!" the blonde whined as he began pulling at the folds in the top once more. Seto growled as he tried to wrestle the bag out of the blonde's fierce grip.

"Dammit mutt, just let me do it!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!" Jou gave a harsh tug with all the strength he could muster, blinking as white suddenly invaded his vision. "Uh…whoops" When the clouds of flour settled, he looked up to see a very pissed off Kaiba caked in flour. "I told you wearing an apron was a good idea…hehe…heh."

……………

"Finally." Jou dusted off his hands as he slid the last of the metal trays into the large industrial size oven. He had to give Kaiba one thing, this contest was going to be a lot easier to win with all of his advanced equipment. Hell, he didn't even know that Kaiba Corp. made mixing machines, but they worked pretty damn well. "Now what?" Jou asked as he closed the door with a loud bang.

"Now we wait," Seto replied, wiping up the counter.

"Ah, okay." Jou glanced over at the timer -- they had about an hour until everything was done. Then the awkward silence began. Sure, it had been easy when they were working together to make the goods for the competition; it had kept them focused on something other than each other. But now what?

"So…" Seto started slowly, and Jou glanced up after slipping off his apron.

"What?"

"Do you…want something to drink?" Jou nodded gratefully, but what he really could have used was something to eat. His snack supply had long since been depleted after more than two hours of labor. Kaiba was poking around in a refrigerator on the other side of the room, so Jou took the chance to pounce on one of the mixing bowls, still coated in uncooked brownie mix.

"Mmm…now that's the stuff." Jou swiped his finger through the goo and brought it to his mouth, only to freeze mid-lick as he saw Kaiba standing over him, a soda in each hand.

"I see you really do like to lick chocolate off of things." Jou blinked stupidly for a moment before his mind flashed back to the memory of the chocolate lube from earlier. He wrinkled his nose at the mental images that brought forth.

"You perv," Jou pouted before slipping the finger in his mouth.


	3. chapter 3

Title: Sugar and Spice (3/7)

Author: Satanic Mechanic

Rating: PG-13

Pairing(s): Seto/Jou, slight Otogi/Honda

Beta: Jennie

Spoilers: None

Summary: A baking contest turns Domino High into a competitive frenzy.  
What effect will this have on everyone's favorite CEO and a certain  
underdog in the competition?

Jou grunted, trying to struggle out of his bonds. Seto had deftly tackled him to the countertop, snatching up the discarded apron and using it to tie his arms over his head before the blonde could even blink. "Uh…Kaiba?" Jou blinked up at his captor, noticing he was wearing a puffy white chef's hat, one that he had not seen around before. The blonde would have laughed at the comical sight had he not been pinned down helplessly. The brunette merely waved a frosting covered spoon in Jou's face.

"Stop trying to struggle, you'll only make the knots tighter," Seto warned and Jou stopped his movements immediately, feeling something slightly cool drip onto his chest. At what point had his shirt come off? "Oh, sorry about that," Seto leered before leaning down to lick the frosting off the bare chest, slowly, chuckling as he heard the sharp intake of breath from above him.

"Ah…" Jou bit his lip to fight off the moan.

"Delicious," Seto commented before reaching to the side, "I know something else that might taste better on you…" the brunette drawled out before sprinkling some brown sugar on the curve of the blonde's hipbone, leaning down to…

"Holy shit!" Jou gasped out, throwing off the sweat soaked sheets and sitting up in his bed. "Did I just dream what I think I did?" the blonde panted out as he buried his face in his hands. After recovering from the initial shock, he reached over to his bedstand and pulled open a drawer, digging for something. "Come on, come on…be in there….aha!" The blonde pulled out a book he had purchased a while ago, 'Dreams; and what they mean to you'. It had come in handy before when he was having that reoccurring dream about the giant donut. He flipped to the page with 'Sex' as the heading and scanned over the words frantically.

"Dreams about sexual activities with someone you know may not always appear at face value…many times it signifies that you want to get to know this person better, or perhaps that you'd like to have power over them…" The blonde breathed a sigh of relief at that, although it still bothered him. He didn't want to get to know Kaiba better, right? Why would he? Of course…he wouldn't mind having some power over him; that might be nice. He let his mind wander back to the first dream he'd had featuring Kaiba, only this time it was the brunette who was whimpering on the floor like a dog.

Jou's fantasy was short lived though as he read further down the page, "However, most of the time dreams about sex simply state the obvious—one's own desires and sexual fantasies." He closed the book, flung it across the room and flopped down on his bed, staring up at the blank white ceiling. That couldn't be right, why the hell would he want to have sex with Kaiba? I mean, they had only spent the whole night baking together, there was nothing sexy about that.

Groaning and rolling over, Jou was prepared to drift back to sleep, praying that no more bizarre dreams would come until he realized he had another problem on his hands. Rolling off the bed Jou headed for the bathroom to tame the beast.

………

It had been hours, and Seto was still sitting in front of the computer screen. Mokuba had long since gone to bed. He had not found it odd that his brother was overworking himself as usual, or so he thought. Seto clicked on the image he was studying a few times, bringing up a large view of the section he had selected. "Who ever created this did a good job…you almost can't tell it's a fake…" Seto muttered to himself, his eyes scanning over the photo he had received yesterday. It had been driving him insane the whole time Jou had been there today; his mind had kept picturing him in that skimpy little thong.

The picture looked so real, he couldn't even see a line on the neck joining the picture of Jou's head with the body of an adult model, and Seto was actually beginning to toy with the idea that it was his. A bet gone wrong on Jou's part? Perhaps. Or maybe, just maybe…Jou really did want him to ring his…jingle bells. Seto scowled and shook his head at the obscene thought. It definitely was a photo touch up, done by a pro. It couldn't have been Jou; he was stupid, but not that stupid. Besides…Jou had a much nicer ass than that. Seto groaned at the last thought in his head, deciding that it was time for bed, his brain was malfunctioning. He knew he had a long day ahead of him tomorrow.

………

"Seto! Seto, wake up or we're going to be late!" The brunette groaned and opened his eyes slowly, searching for the source of the incessant noise so he could promptly smash it to pieces. He reached over and felt for his alarm clock blindly, finding the 'off' button and clicking it. "Seto!" The noise continued and was right over him now. He rolled over to see Mokuba standing over him and his brain began to put together the pieces.

"Uh…Mokuba?"

"Geez, I've never seen you oversleep this much, are you feeling okay?" the boy said in a concerned manner, reaching down to feel his older brother's forehead. Seto swatted him away, glancing over at the digital clock, reading 10:15. He really had overslept. When he had finally decided to go to bed last night, or this morning as the case might be, around 2 am, sleep had not come easy. His dreams had been more like nightmares, and they all incorporated a certain mutt in a red thong.

"Just give me some time to get ready." Seto sat up on the side of his bed, bringing up a hand to rub his tired eyes and to smooth down the messy bed-head.

"Alright, but remember the parade is at 11, we need to leave in about a half an hour!"

"I know."

"Um…what's that doing here?" Mokuba spoke warily, watching his brother looking up at him in a confused manner.

"What are you talking about?" Seto saw that Mokuba was looking in the direction of his nightstand. He followed his gaze and froze in horror at what he saw. It was that damned picture, that damned near pornographic picture featuring Jou in an interesting position. This had to look incriminating. Why the hell had he left that thing out? He should have disposed of it after he was done scanning it into the computer for inspection.

"No wonder you were up all night…I guess you were busy." Mokuba scrunched up his nose in a disgusted sort of manner, but his voice still sounded slightly amused.

"Mokuba!" Seto gasped at the very thing his innocent little brother was suggesting.

"So you're not going to deny it?"

"Of course I am!" Seto paused for a moment as he realized that still made him sound guilty. "I mean, no, I'm not denying anything, because it's not true. Maybe you should tell me what made you think such an inappropriate thing in the first place?" Seto crossed his arms, giving a disapproving look to the younger boy, who promptly rolled his eyes.

"Seto, I'm going to be 13 next year, you think I don't know about…these things? It's perfectly natural you know," Mokuba explained as if he were talking to a small child. "I mean, I do it too, sometimes-"

"Stop right there, I do not think this is something we should really be talking about!" Seto stated, genuinely mortified by what his brother was saying. Mokuba merely shrugged and walked out of the room, reminding Seto to be ready to go soon. Seto sighed and headed to the bathroom, making a mental note to monitor Mokuba's Internet usage from this point on. They grow up so fast, Seto frowned as he turned on the shower head.

…………

"Oh, I'm so excited." Mokuba rubbed his glove-clad hands together, watching as the streets whizzed by in a snow covered blur.

"I'm glad someone is," Seto deadpanned and flicked on his signal light, turning into a parking lot. It was December 20th and it was the day of the annual '12 Days of Christmas' parade. Seto was originally going to refuse to go, but Mokuba had found him in the shower earlier this morning, humming the song that had been stuck in his head all morning, 'Jingle Bells', and happened to be conveniently testing out his new video camera. Needless to say, Seto was faced with blackmail when he tried get out of going to the parade. So now here they were, and they were there to stay. Seto stepped out of the sleek sports-car, amazed by the sheer mass of people who where crowding the main street of Domino. "Mokuba, just stay close to…" Seto turned around to find Mokuba had already ran off into the crowd. "…me."

The younger boy was currently running towards a shop decorated with red and blue Christmas lights, where he saw a familiar face. "Yugi! What are you doing here?" Mokuba smiled and looked up at the sign above the doors to the shop that read 'Naughty but Nice'.

"Oh, I'm waiting for Jou to, um, do something," Yugi stated, obviously embarrassed about being caught outside a sex shop, "Then we're going to watch the parade."

"Oh cool," Mokuba commented just moments before they heard a loud noise coming from inside the shop. Yugi and Mokuba exchanged glances before rushing through the doors, wondering what kind of mayhem Jou could be causing now.

"Hey, brat, you better fix that display case!" A man standing at the counter glared at Jou, who was currently making a big fuss over something, arms flailing; probably the reason the display case was on the floor, condoms spilling out over the white tiles.

"No! Not until you take this back!" Jou shoved the bottle of chocolate flavored lube in the man's face, to which the man swatted him away.

"Look, you don't have a receipt, so I can't."

"That's because I didn't buy it, some pervert sent it to me! Look!" Jou flashed him the tag that was labeled 'from your secret admirer'.

"Hn." The man read the tag and looked up at the blonde, giving him the once over. "Who the hell would want to secretly admire you?"

"That's what I said!" Jou exclaimed throwing his hands up in exasperation before he paused, realizing what the man had just said, "Wait a minute…"

The man snickered at Jou's insulted tone before shaking his head and speaking. "Listen kid, it's already opened, so I can't take it back either way. But, I'll throw in a free pair of bondage bracelets if you leave me alone. You look like you're into that kind of stuff."

Jou put his hands and his hips and huffed, "And how the hell would you know?"

"It's a gift. I can tell just by looking at people what their kink is," the man shrugged, gesturing over at something behind Jou's shoulder. "Take that 'spiked wonder' for example. He likes to wear women's underwear and be spanked with a paddle."

"Ex—excuse me?" Yugi blushed as he realized the man was referring to him. Jou looked over his shoulder to see his friend.

"Man, you're all wrong. Yugi would never do something like that! Oh, hi Mokuba," Jou finished as he noticed the boy standing next to Yugi. "Wait. Mokuba?!" Jou panicked and jumped in front of the boy, trying to shield his eyes from the display of variously shaped vibrators on the wall next to them. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was talking to Yugi outside and we heard a noise. Would you chill out Jou?" Mokuba giggled and moved out of the way as Jou tried to cover the boy's eyes.

"Let's get out of here, this guy is making me uncomfortable," Yugi whispered.

"Yeah, fine, he's not going to take this back anyway," Jou sighed and stuffed the recent object of his demise into the large pocket of his winter coat. "Hey, Honda let's go!" Jou called over to his friend, who seemed to be studying some items in the back of the store with interest. "Sex dice?" Jou raised an eyebrow as he realized what his friend was holding. "You really are starting to hang out with Otogi too much."

"Shut up," Honda sneered and tossed the dice back on the display.

"Jou, how did you get that stuff?" Mokuba asked.

"This stuff?" Jou patted his pocket and the boy nodded. "Some weirdo stuffed it in my mail box," he said as the stepped outside to the busy street. "Pretty gross, huh?"

"Hmm…you know, I could have sworn I saw Seto bringing home something like that, but he hid it somewhere before I could get a good look," Mokuba grinned as he saw Jou's eyes widen in surprise.

"Wait…are you saying that you think…your brother did this?" Jou gasped out.

Mokuba shrugged. "I dunno…don't worry about it Jou, I'm sure that it's just a coincidence."

"Hey Jou!" The blonde was snapped out of his shocked state by an elbow to the ribs. "Check out the 8 maids-a-milkin'!" Honda exclaimed as eight women in very low cropped, short maids' uniforms passed, a few cows walking down the street with them. "Wait a minute…is that, Mai?"

Jou squinted his eyes as he noticed a busty woman with blonde hair walking in the parade, dressed up as one of the mentioned maids. "Hey, Mai! Over here!" Jou called out and the woman in question stopped and made her way over to the group.

"Jounouchi, Yugi." Mai greeted them lamely, obviously not enjoying herself.

"What are you doing in the parade?"

The woman sighed. "I needed the extra cash. Looking this good costs money you know," she explained before one of her fellow maids grabbed her by the elbow.

"Move it! We have to make room for the 'nine ladies dancing'!" the girl exclaimed, pulling Mai back into the current of the parade route. Mai waved goodbye, helpless as she was dragged off. Next came a band of drum players tapping a very loud tune, and right behind them a bunch of men playing flutes.

"Isn't this nice?" Mokuba beamed up at his friends as they watched the parade.

"Mokuba!" The group all exchanged glances as they heard the name being called loudly from somewhere amidst the large crowd. "Mokuba!" It came from a closer distance this time.

"Hey, doesn't that sound like-,"

"Seto!!" Yugi was cut short as the smaller boy jumped in his spot. "Oh my god, I completely forgot that I left him behind! He'll be so angry!"

"There you are!" The brunette emerged from the crowd, nearly mowing down a group of carolers as he spotted his little brother. "Mokuba, what on earth did you think you were doing!?"

"Ow, ow, ow…" Mokuba whined as his ear was pulled on harshly. "Seto, I'm sorry, but I was with Yugi the whole time! See? No harm done!" Seto looked up and sneered at Yugi and company, not bothering with any sort of greeting.

"Jounouchi, don't forget, 6pm tonight." The blonde nodded rapidly, but couldn't bring himself to look up into the other man's eyes. Seto turned back to his brother, "We'd better be going."

"But, Seto! We haven't even been here an hour!" Mokuba whined.

"Yes well, it's almost over anyway, and you know how I dislike crowded places."

Mokua sighed. "Alright, we can go. Bye, guys." The boy waved glumly and the two disappeared into the crowd."

"Man, what a jerk-off. I'm sorry you have to work with him Jou," Honda commented once Seto was safely out of hearing distance.

"Yeah well, can't win them all," Jou shrugged, looking back up towards the parade before picking out another familiar face. "Hey, Bakura!" Jou called across the road to the other side, where the white-haired boy was standing and watching quietly. He heard his name being called and waved back politely.

"Think he can come over to this side with us?" Jou turned to his friend.

"Not until the parade is finished. Santa Claus still has to come out on his sleigh." Yugi answered, waving back to Bakura, only there seemed to be something different about him all of a sudden. "Um…Bakura, are you feeling okay?" Yugi called loudly across the street.

"What do you mean?" Bakura called back, his voice sounding harsher than usual.

"You look like you're constipated!" Yugi shouted, making a little mega-phone with his hands so that he could be heard, a few passersby giving him strange looks.

"Pharaoh!" Bakura growled out, recognizing the change immediately, "Stay right there so I can smite you!!" The spirit of the ring grinned maniacally and pushed his way past the security guards that were lining the streets. "Move out of my way mortal!" he hissed at a stubby man who was blocking his warpath.

"I'm sorry sir, but no one is allowed on the road while Santa is passing through," the man spoke.

"Santa can blow me," Bakura stated bluntly and found great pleasure in the shocked look on the other man's face. With the man distracted he pushed his way through, spotting the arrogant pharaoh on the other side of the street and heading blindly in that direction.

"Ho ho…holy shi-," The big jolly man with the red cap jumped as his sleigh suddenly came to an abrupt halt. "I though you said the live reindeer wouldn't be a problem?" he whispered to one of the elves, who also happened to be one of the producers of the event.

"It seems that someone attacked one of the reindeer!"

"No, no, I saw it happen, and it looked more like that guy got ran over by the reindeer."

"Well, shit, we'd better not get sued for this."

"Agh…" Bakura blinked open his eyes only to see a horned beast standing over him. The animal leaned down to sniff him before huffing out a blast of air from its nostrils. "Do you mind?" Bakura grimaced, raising his hand to shield his face from lovely reindeer snot. The animal blinked and began chewing on the white hair lazily. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bakura shouted, causing the animal to back off. The spirit then jumped up and bit the animal's ear. "There, how do you like it?" The animal looked back at the human who was latched onto his ear for moment before screeching and taking off, spurring the rest of reindeer to run along with him.

"Oh my god!" Mai gasped as the sleigh that was once carrying Santa whizzed past her and the rest of the maids, sending the swans and the French hens flying away for the hills. Women screamed, children cried, teenagers thought it was the funniest thing they ever saw, as the entire parade went into mass hysteria. The sleigh finally stopped when the head deer crashed into the pear-tree at the front of the parade, knocking it over and sending the partridge to the ground, screeching and flapping feathers everywhere.

Once things had settled down, people tried to calm the animals, and the onlookers went back to the normal routine...onlooking. Bakura walked over to where taller Yugi and friends were, satisfied that he had created as much chaos as possible, grinning like it was what he had planned to do all along. "Hello Pharaoh, did you enjoy the mockery I made of you're beloved little parade?"

"You have reindeer snot on your nose" came the simple reply, and Bakura narrowed his eyes before bringing a slow hand up to his face, seeing that it was, in fact, true.

"Yes well…good day then," Bakura stated with as much as was left of his wounded pride, before turning heel and storming off. The other spirit rolled his eyes and smirked back at the retreating form when he noticed something odd…down there.

"Yugi? Why do our underwear feel so…silky smooth?" Yami let his mind wander back to the conversation that took place in the sex shop, how the man said that Yugi liked to wear woman's underwear…and well, do stuff that Yami didn't really want to think about.

"Hey, Yugi are you cold? You can borrow my scarf if you want," Honda commented to his friend who seemed to be blushing slightly.

"Uh, no I'm fine, thanks for asking," Yugi smiled before adjusting his underwear discreetly; lace could get really itchy sometimes.


	4. chapter 4

Title: Sugar and Spice

Author: Satanic Mechanic

Rating: PG-13

Pairing(s): Seto/Jou, slight Otogi/Honda

Beta: Jennie

Spoilers: None

Summary: A baking contest turns Domino High into a competitive frenzy.  
What effect will this have on everyone's favorite CEO and a certain  
underdog in the competition?

"We should have stayed longer. I bet you would have had fun."

"I find that highly unlikely."

"You like Yugi, right? You should make friends with him."

"I don't think so."

"Come on, I know you respect him a lot, you just don't want to admit it."

"Whatever."

"What about Jounouchi? You guys seem to be getting along lately, maybe you should be friends with him."

"If 'getting along' means not killing each other, then yes, I suppose we are. It's only a temporary truce."

"Still, it's better than it was before."

"I suppose."

"You should make friends with him." Mokuba pleaded his case again.

"Why the sudden interest in finding me a play-mate?" Seto looked away from the road for a moment to regard his brother in the passenger seat next to him.

"Well, I dunno. When I see Yugi and Jou, and Anzu…they all looks so happy together. I just want you to have something like that," Mokuba commented softly. Seto felt a twinge of guilt at the statement. He didn't mind it really, working insane hours, putting his personal life aside for the good of his company; he had already gotten so used to it. But hearing that it was making his brother upset made him think that maybe there was room for a bit of change.

"Well, Mokuba…" Seto was about to comment before he slammed on the breaks, narrowly avoiding the flock of swans that had just flown by the car. "Mokuba, are you alright?" The boy had been thrown forward by the impact, but luckily had been saved from harm by the seat belt he was wearing.

"I'm fine, just a little surprised." Mokuba rubbed the spot on his neck were the belt had dug into him.

"What on earth are swans doing roaming around the city?" Mokuba shrugged and Seto was ready to start the car again when they both noticed something peculiar.

"Um…Seto, why did you drive into a snow drift?"

"I…" Seto leaned forward on the steering wheel to see that the front end of the car was, in fact, buried under a mound of snow. "I just wanted to get out of the way of the swans, I didn't see the ditch." The brunette sighed and put the car in reverse, trying to back up but only succeeding in spinning his back wheels, spraying snow everywhere. "Well, this is perfect."

Mokuba sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt, "We'd better get started on digging the car out; all we have is our hands." Seto nodded his head and the two brothers stepped out of the car, making their way over to the white mass that had nearly swallowed the vehicle whole.

"Hey, Kaiba! What happened to your car? Did you get stuck?" Seto heard a familiarly annoying voice approaching. They had gotten stuck in one of Domino's backstreets; not many people passed through, but he was hoping that if anyone did it wouldn't be someone of limited intelligence. Seto straightened up and dusted off his now frost bitten hands.

"Well you see, I decided a good place to park would be under 3 feet of snow. I guess I was wrong. Hm." Seto scratched his chin in mock thought as the blonde snarled at the sarcastic tone.

"Asshole, I was going to offer to help, but now…"

"We're still going to help," Honda commented from next to Jou.

"What are you talking about, he's being-,"

"Kaiba. He's being Kaiba. Haven't you gotten used to that by now? He's obviously just trying to cover up his embarrassment with the usual attitude."

"What would you know about it?" Seto sneered, not liking the fact that a guy he hardly knew, the sidekick of Yugi's sidekick, thought he had him all figured out.

"Look, would you just shut up and let us help you? Damn!" Honda sighed in exasperation. Jou seemed to be over his original anger and now had his head bowed quiet defeat as he realized he was now being ignored, letting the two brunettes battle it out.

"Seto, they're just trying to be nice," Mokuba commented, putting in his two cents.

"You know I hate owing people things."

"Brother, it's getting cold out," Mokuba pouted, effectively getting the point across that he would like the help, and he would like it now, without having to say it.

"Fine…well, get over here then!" Seto turned and snapped at the two boys standing a few yards away. He turned back to his digging without meeting the eyes of either one as the four of them got to work. After about ten minutes, the front of the vehicle was mostly uncovered. Seto stepped inside and started the engine, pulling away from the snow bank slowly and setting it into park.

"Thanks a lot guys," Mokuba said as he saw that the car was now free to move.

"Not a problem," Jou said and Honda nodded. Seto stepped out of the car and cleared his throat, looking at the two boys in an uncertain manner. Suddenly Mokuba's words came back to him, about how he wanted him to make friends. Although these two were the last people on earth he had in mind for that job, he figured he at least owed them some sort of gratitude for their efforts.

"Where are you two headed?"

"Well…uh, we were just on our way home," Jou scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, the parade sort of got out of hand and had to close down early," Honda commented. Seto remembered the flock of swans that had gotten them into this whole mess, figuring that it must have been part of the aftermath of whatever chaos had gone down earlier. What chaos, he didn't know, and he was pretty sure he didn't want to find out.

"Get in the car. I'll give you a ride home," Seto stated before shutting the door and turning on the ignition. A few moments later he heard one of the back doors open and the two piled in quietly. He turned to Mokuba to see him grinning like an idiot.

"I have to pee," Jou whined, in what Seto considered the most asinine highpitched manner. They had been stuck in the parade traffic for about twenty minutes and were just now approaching Jou and Honda's neighborhood. Seto was eager to drop them off and head home, never to speak of this day again.

"Why didn't you go before we left?" Honda teased.

"Shut up! Kaiba, can we pull over?" Jou whined again, tapping his foot and squirming around in place, shaking the interior of the car slightly, which made Seto twitch in aggravation. Have to be nice, have to make friends, he kept reminding himself. He saw the bridge in the distance, and thought it might be rather appealing to drive over the edge. He might have just followed his impulses had Mokuba not been in the car.

"There's no way. I'll have you home in about five minutes."

"Brother….I kinda have to go too, I don't know if I'll be able to hold it until we get home." Mokuba peeked over shyly at his brother and Jou laughed. "Come on, there's no one out here. We'll be quick, right Jou?" Seto groaned and pulled over to the side of the road, annoyed at the fact that his own brother seemed to be aiding Jou in his idiotic antics. Still, if Mokuba really couldn't hold it, their house was on the other side of town and he really didn't feel like explaining to the cleaning staff what that weird stain was.

"Just hurry it up," he ordered, snapping the gear into the 'park' position harshly. Mokuba nodded quickly and he and Jou stepped out of the car, hiding behind a few bushes that were on the side of the road. The inside of the car was silent, and Seto would have enjoyed keeping it that way but, unfortunately, the other boy in the back seat had different ideas.

"So how's Jou in the kitchen? I have never had the privilege of seeing him cook anything yet," Honda grinned.

"Well, he hasn't blown anything up yet, so, so far so good. How are you and your partner doing?" Seto asked, not really interested, but wanting to keep the polite conversation going, if for nothing other than to take his mind off the fact that his little brother was taking a whiz outside, in public, and with the mutt of all people.

"Otogi is great. I mean, he really knows how to cook, and we have fun, and I'm learning a lot of things and…what?" Honda froze as he realized the way Seto was watching him through the rear-view mirror.

"If you ask me, I'd say it seems you are quite taken with him," Seto smirked as he watched Honda's face heat up.

"Well it's a good thing no one asked you then!" Honda huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, hard pressed not to jump over the seat and wipe that smirk off of Seto's face the painful way.

Outside, Jou had found a clean spot of snow that looked like as good of a place as any to do his business, a nice clean slate. "Hey, Mokuba, got any requests?" Jou called over to the other side of the bushes that Mokuba occupied.

"You're crazy Jou…" Mokuba giggled.

"Eh, whatever; don't say I didn't ask you!" Jou finished what he was doing and zipped up his pants just in time for Mokuba to peek around the bushes.

"What did you write?" Mokuba answered his own question by reading the yellow letters in the snow. "Seto is g? What's 'g'?"

"I ran out," Jou shrugged. "It was supposed to be 'gay'." Not exactly the most original thing to write, Jou knew this, but it was hard for him to think too hard when he felt like his bladder was about to burst.

" 'Seto is gay'?" Mokuba shook his head at how immature the boy who was older than him was being. "How did you know?" Jou froze, not having expecting that reaction. He couldn't possibly mean what he thought he meant…right?

"How did I know what?" Jou laughed nervously, "I don't know anything!"

"That my brother is gay. I don't think he's told anyone…" Mokuba trailed off, watching as Jou's eyes widened in horror. Suddenly all the teasing, all the fighting, took on a whole new meaning for Jou. 'Mutt' for example. Who calls people that? It sounded more like a pet name than anything. Then of course there was that dream…did that mean that he was gay too? Did that mean that…they were meant to be gay together? Like as in…not straight? Just as Jou felt that his head was about to explode he realized that someone was waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hello? Earth to Jou…are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, it's nothing. Let's get back inside before your brother gets pissed off and eats me for dinner," Jou stated sarcastically, wincing a few seconds later at how that could be possibly be taken in a dirty manner. "Dammit…" Jou hissed as he followed the younger Kaiba into the car.

………

"Hey, thanks for the ride," Honda said as he opened the door to the back seat, receiving a slight grunt of indication from Seto. "Yeah…so, good night." He scratched his head awkwardly and waved good-bye to Jou.

"No! Wait! Um…I'll get off here too…you know, my house isn't that far from here." Jou jumped up, climbing over the seat to the open door on Honda's side, anything to get out the general proximity of Seto.

"Suit yourself," Seto shrugged.

"Bye guys," Mokuba smiled, and Jou nodded.

"See ya." The blonde took one step out of the vehicle only to feel his wrist caught in a steellike grip a second later. Jou gasped and turned around to see Seto looking at him. His fingers were slightly cool, but Jou felt like he was going to burst in to flames any minute from the contact.

"Don't forget, we have work to do tonight." Seto released his grip and turned back to the steering wheel.

"Right. I didn't forget," Jou huffed; Seto only nodded his head and rolled down the window, driving off quickly.

"Dude, you totally forgot. Right?"

"Shut up," Jou scowled, but didn't try to deny it. He had forgotten, even though Kaiba had already reminded him twice today. Maybe he really wanted to forget, so he could avoid going over there. Things could get pretty confusing in a blonde's head, especially when that blonde was beginning to question his own sexuality.


	5. chapter 5

Title: Sugar and Spice (5/7)

Author: Satanic Mechanic

Rating: PG-13

Pairing(s): Seto/Jou, slight Otogi/Honda

Beta: Jennie

Spoilers: None

Summary: A baking contest turns Domino High into a competitive frenzy.  
What effect will this have on everyone's favorite CEO and a certain  
underdog in the competition?

"What time do you have to be at Seto's tonight?"

"Um, 6:00, why?"

"I just got the greatest idea. Yami thinks it stupid but…" Jou heard Yugi trail of on the other end of the line, mumbling something as if he were talking to himself. "Come on! No one deserves to be alone on Christmas," Yugi whined, and although Jou wasn't there to see, he was almost positive that the boy was using his infamous puppy-dog eyes of doom.

"Uh, I never said they did," Jou replied, but Yugi seemed to be off in his own little world at the moment.

"Yeah, it's true he does have Mokuba…" Yugi sighed dramatically, "Look, I don't care if you think he's a stuck-up pompous ass…Yami! Don't be so vulgar!"

"Uh, Yugi? You still with me?"

"Oh sorry. It's Yami," Yugi sighed tiredly.

"Well, can't you just stuff him back in the puzzle or whatever if he's being a jerk?" Jou asked awkwardly. Not having first hand experience with spirit possession, he still found it odd to be having these types of conversations with his friend.

"I couldn't do that!" Yugi giggled. "Oh, and Yami says he heard that, too." Jou groaned.

………

"So, what do you get for the guy who already has everything?" Jou grumbled from his current position in the middle of Domino Mall. Yugi's brilliant plan was to buy Seto some Christmas presents, and say they were from the both of them. Otogi had been unknowingly roped into the whole thing when Yugi called him up for a ride, not explaining exactly what they were going to be doing at the mall.

"I still say a prostitute would be a good idea."

"Otogi!" Yugi choked on his hot cocoa.

"I'm just saying…it's obvious the guy needs to get laid."

"It has to be something that fits in his mailbox. There's no way I'm showing up on his doorstep with some scantily clad guy with a bow on his head," Jou snorted.

"Wait…what made you say guy? Is Kaiba gay?" Otogi's face lit up with amusement and curiosity.

"No!" Jou snapped, "I mean…I don't know! Why should I know? Who do you think I am? Instructor of Kaiba 101?" Jou spoke quickly, and Otogi raised his eyebrow at how defensive the blonde had suddenly become.

"Yeah…yeah it all makes sense. Kaiba's not an obsessive, totally anal, bitchy straight man…he's just gay!" Otogi explained. "Wow. That clears a lot of things up. Like that wardrobe for example; all those damned gaudy trench coats mixed with a pinch of bondage gear."

"What's wrong with bondage gear?" Yugi stammered.

Otogi rolled his eyes at the chain hanging around Yugi's neck and the various leather belts. "It's tacky."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure dice earrings are all the rage," Jou shot back, effectively defending Yugi's honor.

"Hey, let's go in here!" Otogi exclaimed as they passed a lingerie store, letting Jou's insult roll off with practiced ease.

"Why?" Jou raised an eyebrow as he looked at the displays in the windows; all female models wearing lacy barely there outfits that looked completely uncomfortable and unnecessary. The blonde was sure that if he ever had a girlfriend, he would never ask her to parade around in that stuff. It was totally not hot. And, just because that sort of thing didn't light his fire, it didn't mean that he was gay either, Jou reassured himself. He was just a considerate straight man. Yep. Chicks really dug that kind of thing too.

"They have some adult toys in here as well, and since you guys won't let me get him a prostitute, I want to get him the next best thing," Otogi explained, only to receive blank, and somewhat cautious, stares from Jou and Yugi. "A blow up doll!" Otogi exclaimed, rolling his eyes as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Well…lord knows Kaiba is full of hot air," Jou trailed off and followed Otogi into the store.

………

Jou grunted as he tried to jam the six presents into the Kaiba Estate mailbox without ripping the bright red and gold wrapping. Sure, he could have just handed them to Seto when he went inside, but then that might give him the impression that the gifts were all Jou's idea, which they most certainly were not. It wasn't really that he didn't want Kaiba to think that he cared, because he had to agree with Yugi that no one deserved to be alone on Christmas. He really just did not want to be there when Kaiba unwrapped Yugi's present and promptly smashed it to pieces. He was sure the last thing Kaiba wanted was his greatest rival offering him sympathy.

"Jounouchi, what on earth are you doing?" Jou jumped as he heard a voice right next to his ear. Turning, he saw that there was a speaker connected the mailbox he was currently filling.

"Um…I was just doing…" As Jou tired to search for an answer, he noticed a small camera positioned on the top of the mailbox. He should have figured Kaiba would have cameras, even out here. Poor, paranoid bastard; was he afraid that even the mailman was out to get him? "You know….that thing."

"Mutt…just come inside…and bring the packages you were trying to sneak in. We have work to do," Seto sighed in annoyance.

Jou hung his head glumly at having been caught as he marched up the steps to the front door, where he was sure certain doom awaited him. "Here." Jou shoved the six boxes in Seto's face when he opened the door before he could say anything; each stacked on top of one another. When Seto stood there staring at him like Jou had just asked him to do the Macarena. Jou groaned. "It's not a bomb, okay? Just take it!" Seto took the packages in his hands and narrowed his eyes as he read the tags.

"What is the meaning of this?" Seto asked, his voice darkening as he saw not only Jou's name, but he greatest rival and…the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters?

"It's something called a Christmas present. Actually, it's six Christmas presents; three for you and three for Mokuba, in case you couldn't figure that part out," Jou explained, slightly annoyed. He realized that Kaiba was probably not used to receiving these sorts of things from anyone other than Mokuba, so it was natural for him to be a bit skeptical. It was also natural for him to be an all around ass to Jou, and he had been expecting this response from the get-go.

"Why are you giving these to me?"

"You know…me, Yugi and Otogi had nothing better to do after the parade…so yeah, enjoy," Jou bluffed; Kaiba didn't have to know that it was all part of Yugi's elaborate scheme to make friends with him, and torture Jou in the process. "But you can't open them now!" Jou scolded as Seto prodded the rather large ribbon on top of Yugi's present. "You have to wait until Christmas morning."

"I can hardly contain myself," Seto replied dryly and set the gifts down on a near-by table. "Come on, we still have a lot to do before the competition tomorrow," Seto said and Jou followed him to the only room in the house he had learned to get to without getting lost; the kitchen. He almost needed to take some bread crumbs with him last time he tried to find a bathroom.

………

"Well there goes that batch…" Seto sighed while Jou snagged a kitchen towel to wipe his nose, glaring down at the tray of dumplings that the blonde had just sneezed all over.

"We can…charge them for the extra topping?" Jou tired to joke, but only received an irritated grunt from Seto as he took the tray and scraped its contents into the garbage. "Look…I'm sorry. I think I'm getting sick."

"Then you should go lay down and stop ruining my product."

"Yeah, I guess your right…" Jou reached around to untie his apron, as he was never one to pass up an opportunity not to work. Then he realized something. "Wait…your product? What do you mean yours? We've been working together!"

"Of course, when you weren't burning everything or trying to sneak tastes of everything yourself," Seto sneered, as he began to take out the ingredients to replace what Jou had previously blown snot all over .

"Dammit, why do you have to…" Jou shook his head in annoyance as he quickly pulled off his apron. "You know what? Never mind…I am going to go lie down," Jou stated, wanting more than anything to get out of the room and fighting the urge to drown Seto in a bowl of batter. "But not because you told me to do it…because I want to."

"Sure," Seto replied, not looking up from what he was doing, going about his business in a mechanical fashion. Jou frowned; Seto said 'sure'. Was that a 'sure, go ahead and do what you want' or a 'sure, whatever you say, you idiot' kind of sure. Deciding that he was too frustrated to even want to know, Jou threw up his hands and walked out of the kitchen.

………

"Jou? Why aren't you cooking with Seto?" Mokuba looked up from his spot on the couch as a grumpy and sniffly blonde walked into the large family room.

"I'm not feeling well, so he told me to go lie down," Jou sighed heavily and threw himself down on a nearby couch, nuzzling into the fluffy cushions contently. "I think he just wants me out of the way."

"Probably."

"Gee Mokuba, thanks for having so much faith in me."

"It's not that. Seto likes to work by himself, he hates to share."

"Even when that person is only trying to help him?"

"It's all about control," Mokuba sighed. "Brother thinks he needs to do everything by himself, or else it won't get done right. Sometimes I wish he'd just let other people help him though…" The boy trailed off and Jou frowned at the depressing tone in Mokuba's voice.

………

"Here…do something with these." Seto handed his brother the six presents Jou had brought in earlier, watching as Mokuba's face lit up at the sight.

"See! I told you Jou and his friends were nice!" Mokuba happily took the gifts and huddled underneath the Christmas tree. Seto couldn't help but smile as he watched his brother try to arrange them around the already existing packages, shaking a few as he tried to figure out the contents. When he was done, Mokuba stood up and admired his work happily, grinning up at Seto who was standing behind him.

"Alive?" Seto prodded the blonde boy who was sprawled out on the couch like he owned the place. He raised an eyebrow as he realized the blond was talking in his sleep; something about 'brown sugar'. "Wake up." Jou grunted and blinked open his eyes, looking rather flushed. Must have been some dream he was having, Seto thought.

"Seto?" Jou gasped out, in a tone that Seto had never heard before, one that made his stomach do somersaults. Seto scowled at his body's own reaction before placing a bottle on the coffee table a bit harshly.

"Take this." Jou took the bottle and squinted to read it through sleep-hazed eyes. "Nyquil? I've never taken that one before. I usually take Dayquil."

"Well, this will help you sleep better tonight. You'll need your rest for the competition tomorrow," Seto stated, not because he actually cared for the boy's well-being, but because he needed him as an asset in the competition. Yes, a temporary partner and nothing more, Seto reminded himself. After tomorrow he wouldn't have to worry about speaking to the blonde ever again if he didn't want to. He also wouldn't have to worry about how adorable the blonde looked while he was sleepy. He would have to worry about some serious counseling for ever considering the blonde to be adorable though.

"I see. So like…would Dayquil cancel out the effects of Nyquil?" Jou asked, and Seto blinked, not sure if that was meant as a joke or not. When Jou sat and stared up at him waiting for an answer, Seto sighed in exhaustion.

"No, because Dayquil isn't negative 10 alcohol."

"Oh." Jou twisted off the top and downed a gulp of the syrupy liquid. "Mm, how'd you know cherry was my favorite flavor?" Jou grinned.

"Why didn't you use the measuring cup? Now I could get your cold if I wanted to use that," Seto scowled.

"But…wouldn't you already have a cold if you were going to use it?" Jou asked, puzzled, and Seto faltered for a comeback to his own mental miscalculation.

"Just…go back to bed. I still have a few more things to finish up," Seto ordered.

Another hour had passed when Seto came back into the living room, finally satisfied that everything was in order for tomorrow. He found the room mostly abandoned; Mokuba must have gone off to bed without being told for some strange reason. It was quiet and the only light in the room was from the fireplace crackling at the other end of the room. Seto probably would have completely forgotten about Jou's presence had he not almost sat on him.

"Shit…" Seto let out a whispered curse, feeling the warm body underneath him, standing up just in time to avoid crushing him. Jou stirred slightly but didn't wake up, and Seto breathed a sigh of relief. He reached up on top of the couch and pulled down a comforter, draping it over the boy's quiet form, resisting the urge to brush away the fine blonde hair that had fallen across the boy's face. If that wasn't the biggest, stupidest cliche ever, Seto thought as he snorted at his own actions. Nevertheless, he had to admit, Jou was tolerable like this; pleasant even. He had expected someone like him to snore, but the boy was complete silent, save for a few mumbled whispers of whatever was currently going on in dreamland.

"Aww…I wish I could take a picture. It'd make a good Christmas card." Seto was snapped away from his inner musings as he turned to see his brother sanding in the doorway.

"Excuse me?"

"That was really cute how you went out of your way to tuck Jou in," Mokuba beamed.

"First of all, I wasn't going out of my way. Second of all, I'm not going to let anyone freeze all night when there is a blanket right next to them, especially if they're already sick, and third of all…" Seto trailed off, seeing his brother's amused expression.

"…third of all?"

"Go to bed."

"M'kay." Mokuba hopped off and started humming a tune that sounded something like 'I saw Seto kissing Jounouchi Claus…' as he went up the stairs, leaving Seto silently fuming behind him.

Chocolate flavored dango

Coconut namagashi

Sembei rice cookies


	6. chapter 6

Title: Sugar and Spice (6/7)

Author: Satanic Mechanic

Rating: PG-13

Pairing(s): Seto/Jou, slight Otogi/Honda

Beta: Jennie

Spoilers: None

Summary: A baking contest turns Domino High into a competitive frenzy.  
What effect will this have on everyone's favorite CEO and a certain  
underdog in the competition?

Jou awoke, lying half on the floor, half on a black suede couch. He was about to roll over and go back to sleep when he realized that a black suede couch was definitely not something he was used to be waking up on. Or…half-waking up on for that matter.

"Ugh…" Jou groaned out as he took in his surroundings. It looked like Kaiba's place; had he fallen asleep there? He didn't remember doing that. There was a bottle of Nyquil sitting on the coffee table that he had his arm wrapped around. Right, Nyquil makes you sleepy. Evidently, it made you have some pretty screwed -up dreams too, if last night was any indication. Seto Kaiba had been taking over in that department way too much for Jou's liking. But, he merely chalked it up to his having to spend so much time with the billionaire lately.

"Good morning…" Mokuba yawned as he walked into the room, stopping as he noticed the way Jou was sprawled out.

"Hey brat…" Jou stood up and stretched out his cramped muscles, a few bones popping as he did so, and he let out a satisfied sigh. "Where's mister sunshine? I can't imagine that he'd be a morning person…or, an anytime of day person now that I think about it."

"He's in the kitchen, he should be out in a minute. Don't worry, he's usually very docile in the morning," Mokuba replied, taking a seat next to Jou on the couch and pulling out a hair brush he happened to have with him.

"That must be a pain in the ass to keep up with," Jou commented as he watched the boy began to comb out the sleep tousled raven locks.

"Yeah…but I like it," Mokuba said, wincing as the brush got tangled in a knot. "Seto is always telling me to cut it. He doesn't think that it looks professional enough for the Vice President of Kaiba Corp."

"I bet you the chicks dig it though," Jou grinned.

"I have to practically beat them off with a stick," Mokuba giggled.

"Oh really now?" Seto came into the room, dressed casually and holding two steaming mugs. "Do I need to have a talk with you?"

"Aw, not the birds and the bees!" Mokuba buried his face in a nearby couch pillow, obviously embarrassed. Seto smirked slightly and sat down next to the two on the couch.

"Uh…thanks," Jou said when Seto set one of the hot cups of coffee in front of him. "Why didn't you wake me up last night?"

"There really was no point. You would have had to come here this morning to prepare for the competition anyway." Jou nodded and took a few sips of his coffee. Seto had opened up the morning paper and Mokuba had flicked on the TV, watching some early morning cartoons. Jou hated to admit it, but it felt nice, just sitting there in silence with the Kaiba brothers. It was nothing like the morning routine over at his house.

…………

"So what's the game plan here?" Jou asked as they began taking out their stuff. The school gymnasium was being used to house the special event. There were fifty-some booths set up for the competitors, and little cash registers to keep the money.

"We go to the school…and sell our stuff. Try not to get too much in the way."

"That's it? That's all that brilliant business mind of yours can come up with?"

"I can assure you that we'll get enough attention in order to sell out."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I am a household name," Seto stated while Jou rolled his eyes at the typical display of arrogance; but, he had to admit, Kaiba had a point. All the fan girls would be lining up around to block to get a taste of Kaiba's sweet stuff. He cringed inwardly. Yeah, that definitely didn't sound right, and Jou made a mental note to never again refer to anything of Kaiba's as 'sweet stuff'.

"Yeah, but Yugi is going to be there too, and a lot of people know who he is. Does 'World Champion' ring a bell?" Jou grinned at the look on Kaiba's face, one that looked like he had just tasted something highly unpleasant.

"I know that already. I'll think of a way to tackle that hurdle when the time comes."

…………

"Anzu…can I talk to you for a minute?" The girl took some money from a customer and turned to see Jou, noticing the distressed look on his face.

"Sure, what's up?"

"I'd rather talk about this in private." Anzu nodded and allowed herself to be led out to an abandoned hallway. Jou made sure that no one was within hearing distance and bit his lip nervously, turning to look into confused blue eyes.

"Jou…are you okay? Did Kaiba do something to you?" You could say that, Jou grimaced. It was Kaiba that was making him have all these confusing, new feeling and desires after all. He might have been able to come to terms with being gay, or to at least face the fact that he had some soul searching to do. But, the fact that it had to be Kaiba, of all people, that was forcing him to confront these issues, was something that didn't sit to well with him.

"It's…I didn't know who else to tell. You have to promise not to laugh; you have to listen to me." Tea nodded her head, realizing that this was serious.

"I…I think I might be gay," Jou said, seeing Anzu blink in surprise.

"Where did this come from?"

"Well…I've been hanging out with Kaiba a lot and-,"

"You're attracted to Kaiba!?" Jou lunged forward and covered the girl's mouth.

"Do you mind, Anzu? I don't think they heard you in Alaska!" Jou growled and pulled his hand away from her mouth, only to see it hanging open in shock.

"Wow…just, wow."

"Yeah, I know. But I was thinking maybe I was just confused…"

"Well…are you attracted to any girls?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Anzu put her hands on her hips. She really wanted to help, but how could she help someone who was almost completely clueless? "Look, I have an idea. You obviously need to experiment a bit."

"Well, I figured that, but I can't just walk up to some guy and say 'Hey, can I mess around with you? I need to figure out if I'm gay or not'."

"Jou, I think you should start with girls first. To see if there is any attraction there."

"What girls could I ask? I mean Mai moved away to…Anzu why are you grinning at me like that? You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, right?"

"I just want to help!"

"That would be weird though! Like kissing my sister or something!"

"For experimental sake, it'll be a good step for you," Anzu reasoned, and Jou looked like he was considering the option.

"I…guess your right."

"Of course I'm right. Now come here. Good, now put your arm around my waist and…" Anzu began instructing and Jou followed her orders awkwardly. "Right , now…Jounouchi, that's my breast." Jou flushed and removed his hand, re-locating it to a shoulder quickly.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to."

"Let's stick to first base for now, okay?" Anzu teased.

"It's not my fault they're in the way!" Anzu tired not to laugh at the strange look on the blonde's face as she leaned in.

"You ready?"

"I guess." Jou leaned forward to meet a pair of soft lips that tasted faintly like cherry lip balm. He tried desperately to block out the fact that this was one of his best friends he was kissing. Maybe trying to imagine this was someone else would help. Jou let his eyes drift shut and let his mind wander. There was that girl from the coffee shop with soft hazel eyes that always smiled at him, that super model chick with the huge boobs he had seen on a billboard yesterday, and of course the blonde bombshell that he had met in Duelist Kingdom. All of them would have been fine, but the only person he could picture, the only face that made his heart race, belonged to that of Seto Kaiba.

"Stop…" Jou pushed his friend away to catch his breath, trying desperately to erase the fantasy of strong arms wrapped around him, soft brown hair brushing against his neck and a sensually deep voice whispering heated words so close to his ear.

"Jou? Anzu?" The two jumped and turned to look down at Yugi, who was standing a few yards away, looking like he was about to faint.

"Yugi! Listen, it's not what you think-," Anzu tried but the boy ran into a near-by boy's bathroom before she could finish. Jou sighed and turned to his experiment partner.

"I'll go talk to him."

"Ok…Wait."

"Huh?"

"Did you feel anything?"

"No," Jou sighed in a defeated manner. "No offense or anything. I mean, I'm sure every other guy in the school thinks your hot."

"I'm sorry Jou…maybe it doesn't mean anything though. Maybe I'm just not your type?" Jou smiled, knowing that Anzu was just trying to make him feel better, but he knew the truth. Anzu wasn't his type; she didn't have a penis.

…………

"Yugi listen…Yugi?" Jou walked into the bathroom to find it seemingly empty, but he checked the stalls to make sure. Either Yugi had developed some inhuman agility, enough to jump out of the window at the top of the wall, or the Puzzle had some strange teleporting ability he never knew about. That would be pretty cool…the teleporting thing… Jou shook his head as he realized he was letting his mind wander off topic. He stopped in the middle of the room, picking up on a faint whimpering sound coming from the corner. "Yugi?" He found the boy hunched over behind a garbage can, effectively hiding his small frame.

"Jou! How could you!?"

"I'm sorry Yugi…I never knew that you felt anything for her…"

"I don't! She's practically stalking me!" Yugi wiped the tears out of his eyes to glare up at his friend.

"What? Why are you upset then?"

"You shouldn't be with her! You have to be with Seto!"

"What?!" Jou shouted, becoming increasingly confused by his friend's behavior.

"It's just…I promised someone that I would help get you two together, and I don't want to let them down. Plus, I want to see you happy, too."

"You think that would make me happy? Yugi…the guy can't stand me!"

"Seto can't stand most of the human population," Yugi stated, and Jou really couldn't argue with him on that point. What was he getting at though? "You are different, though. If there's anyone persistent enough to break through that wall, you are." Jou appreciated the fact that Yugi had so much faith in him, but who the hell would want to set up their best friend with their greatest rival?

"Look, I have to go; Kaiba's probably wondering where the hell I am."

"I'm sure he is."

………

"Kaiba, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I know but-,"

"Not now; we're not selling as well as I thought we would."

"Listen this is really important." Jou stressed his point by grabbing on to the collar of Seto's shirt, pulling slightly. "Please…I have to talk to you privately." Seto narrowed eyes at the strange desperation in the blonde's voice.

"Jounouchi-,"

"Excuse me, could I have this one?" Seto was interrupted, but was still happy for the sale.

"Have a good holiday." Jou watched as Seto politely handed the customer a bundle of cookies. He let his hand slip slowly from the collar, and threw his arm around the taller boy's neck. He had to know now, or he was going to go out of his mind.

"Jounouchi?" Seto jumped slightly as he felt an arm snake around his waist. He looked down into soft brown eyes that were clouded over with confusion and an underlying hint of lust. "What are you-," He didn't get to finish his sentence before he was yanked down slightly, meeting a pair of lips on the way, causing him to lose all ability to think.

"You really should have let me talk to you in private…" Jou gasped out as he pulled away. He had needed to stop then, or he was afraid he wouldn't have been able to keep himself from ravishing the billionaire for much longer. On top of a pile of baked goods in the school gymnasium was not exactly how he pictured his first time.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Seto growled, turning his head to see many shocked on-lookers.

"Did you see that? Jounouchi Katsuya kissing Kaiba Seto?"

"That's fucked up man."

"I thought it was kinda hot."

"Maybe they have decided not to be at one another's throats anymore…or wait…maybe they want to be at each other's throats…heh."

"It's a Christmas miracle!"

"Um…" Jou fumbled with the collar of his shirt nervously, wanting to crawl into a hole and die somewhere as he saw the disgusted look Seto was giving him. "I'm sorry."

"Do you realize what you've done? The press is going to be all over me!" Seto yanked Jou close by the collar, hissing out the words in a dark whisper.

"Well…um…" Jou cleared his throat and turned to their gathered audience. "Yeah, I was just demonstrating our special feature for today! We're…opening a kissing both!"

"Excuse me?" Seto raised his eyebrow but the crowd seemed to be interested, if the rising mumble of whispers were any indication.

"Yeah!" Jou shouted happily, taking his new idea and rolling with it. "Buy anything from our stand and get a kiss from Seto Kaiba himself!" Seto looked a bit shocked but he didn't complain when the line grew to twice its size.

………

The baking contest that had taken Domino High by storm was reaching its closing. The booths had closed down and each team was asked to hand in their till to be counted. Whichever one had raised the most money would win. Jou was currently sitting nervously in one of the bleachers. Seto had long since retreated to the bathroom to wash his mouth out, saying something about how he felt 'so violated'.

"Hey man, good luck." Jou turned around to see his friend Honda taking a seat next to him.

"Yeah, you too," Honda grunted and shook his head.

"Thanks but it's not needed now. We got disqualified. Otogi insisted on baking anatomically correct ginger bread men."

"Attention! Attention everyone!" The school principal went to the podium, leaning a bit too close to the microphone and causing it to screech loudly. "Sorry. Well, the results of the competition are now in!" The room quieted down significantly, the attention of every person in the room focused on the pudgy middle-aged man. "First off, I'd like to say that everyone here is a winner today," Blah blah blah…Jou groaned, get to the winners! "We've managed to raise close to 300,000 yen to be donated to the children's hospital!" There was a brief round of applause. "Now, the group that raised the most amount of money is…" The man looked down on an index card; Jou could practically hear the drum roll in his head. "Matt Ikari, and Shinji Hiko! Congratulations!"

"Aw yeah!" Jou stared and then sat back down. "Wait…who the fuck are they?!"


	7. chapter 7

Title: Sugar and Spice (7/7)

Author: Satanic Mechanic

Rating: PG-13

Pairing(s): Seto/Jou, slight Otogi/Honda

Beta: Jennie

Spoilers: None

Summary: A baking contest turns Domino High into a competitive frenzy.  
What effect will this have on everyone's favorite CEO and a certain  
underdog in the competition?

First a few reviewer responses…

Mandapandabug: Yeah, you figured out the whole…Mokuba…Yugi thing. I can't say much else or It will spoil it for everyone…which I probably just did anyway…not that important though.

Icy Flame: glomps back Thanks for the very nice and lengthy review. Those are always satisfying.

King Mana: Thanks, I wanted to make sure I did something no one else has done. Even if it is ridiculous, lol. That's half the fun.

La Folle: Hopefully I can update Black Ink soon…I'm so lazy…ugh. Thanks for showing me some love!

Goomba5: Why yes, I do suck balls. And your mom liked it too. By the way…you should have the randomly crapping in your pants thing checked out, you know, get some medication. That can't be a good sign.

A/N: Wow, lotsa people reviewed the last chapter. Thanks guys. Just so you know, the reasons why updates were so quick was because I finished this fic back in the beginning of December. Otherwise…updates would not be as quick. Believe me, lol. Oh yeah, I might…possibly do a epilogue to this one day…only because I'm not sure If I'm satisfied with the ending. Okay, that's all, enjoy the finale!

The group felt a bit disappointed at the results of the competition, but life went on. It was Christmas Eve after all, and there was plenty to be grateful for. Like the fact that they were all still alive and kicking; and considering all the crazy shit they had been through over the past years, that was really saying something. Jou had been a bit surprised when he saw an invitation waiting for him when he got home from school; an invitation to a party at the Kaiba Estate. He had called Yugi, and they had agreed that they should go since it was a rare opportunity, even if they both were a bit nervous for their own reasons; Jou because he was going to have to face the object of his affections, whom he had kissed earlier that day, and Yugi because…well, that was still a bit of a mystery.

"Hey guys! I'm so glad you could make it!" Mokuba said as he pulled open the large doors, struggling just a bit and beaming up at the teenagers gathered in front of him. He was glad to see that two of them were Jou and Yugi, and Anzu, Honda, Otogi, and Bakura made up the rest.

"Uh yeah…what's with the get up?" Jou tried not to laugh as he took in the green and purple atrocity the boy had on. It resembled something an elf might wear, complete with pointy-toed boots with jingle bells attached to them. Mokuba groaned and crossed his arms, looking like he had been seriously hoping no one would notice or say anything about his current state of dress.

"It's Seto. The only way he would agree to let me have this party was if I wore this," Mokuba scowled, and for the first time that he could remember, Jou saw a brief resemblance between the two brothers.

"Eh, it's not so bad, Mokuba. You look really cute." Jou stressed out the last word with a well-placed pinch to the cheek, causing they boy to whine and throw his hands up defensively.

"Jou! Don't be so embarrassing!. Come inside before you guys get sick," Mokuba said as he stepped aside to give them room. "Hey Yugi." The boy winked a second later, and Yugi flushed slightly.

"Uh…hi."

The room was sparsely decorated with some lights and garland. There was a table set up with a bunch of snacks, and in the corner there was a stereo playing some typical Christmas tunes. Other than that, it didn't really look much like a party. The group hesitantly scattered into the room, making small talk while they poked at some chips and the like. Anzu saw Honda standing by himself near the fireplace, and decided it was her perfect chance to strike. She had already made out with Jou the other day and figured that she might as well try and shoot for the whole collection. Taking out her stash of mistletoe, she made her way over to the unsuspecting prey.

"Hey there, Honda."

"Man, this is going to be a fast moving evening." Honda rolled his eyes and Anzu smiled.

"Yeah…we should start our own party." The girl grinned and held up the sprig of mistletoe, watching the way the boy flushed slightly.

"Um…Anzu, maybe we shouldn't…" Honda panicked as the girl leaned in, feeling relieved a second later as she pulled away with a hiss.

"…Otogi? You want to let go of my hair?" Anzu demanded as she turned her head slightly to see Otogi standing behind her, a fist wound tightly in her hair, and it didn't feel too nice.

"Do you want to let go of my man?" Honda flushed and Anzu gasped. Was every freaking man she knew gay?!

"Let go of my hair first…"

"No."

"Otogi! Don't be a bitch!"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Anzu whirled around and shoved the boy away, and Otogi had no qualms about fighting back. Much hair pulling ensued while Honda and Jou tried to break them apart. Once Otogi had managed to get out of the choke-hold he was currently in, he grabbed the sprig of mistletoe and tackled Honda to the ground.

"Now you are mine!" he growled out in a possessive manner and Anzu's anger was replaced with pure shock as she watched Otogi effectively violate her friend…not that her friend seemed to be complaining or anything. She shrugged her shoulders and picked up the now-forgotten clump of mistletoe, pulling something out of her secret stash and heading towards her new target.

"Oh Yugi…" The boy looked up to see Anzu holding some mistletoe above her head, a set of pink fuzzy handcuffs dangling from the other hand and a mischievous grin on her face.

"Yugi? This isn't a duel!" Yami gasped as the boy forced them to switch places quickly. He looked up to see Anzu advancing on him. Why did this scenario feel so familiar?

After the brief mayhem, Otogi and Anzu agreed to a truce and headed to the bathroom to fix themselves up, nothing of much interest had happened at the Kaiba Estate Christmas Eve party. Except for when Otogi managed to spike the punch bowl with some alcohol he had snuck in, but shhh…no one is supposed to know about that.

"So where's the Grinch himself?" Jou finally asked Mokuba, who was passing out a bunch of little Christmas gifts, trying desperately to be a good host.

"Upstairs." Mokuba sighed, "I'm lucky he didn't try and flee the country already."

"I'll go and talk to him," Jou promised, noticing how Mokuba seemed relieved.

………

"Kaiba, would you please stop being an antisocial bastard and come downstairs?" Jou asked politely, carrying into the bedroom with him two glasses of bright red fruit punch, one for himself and one for his former partner. Seto didn't complain about the intrusion, but he didn't look up to regard the blonde with much interest either.

"Why would I want to celebrate another failure?" Seto scowled down at the cup of punch in his hand.

"Because it's Christmas Eve!" Jou sighed. "Besides, we're not failures. I talked to the principal, and he said we came in third place," Jou stated proudly before adding, "Due to my brilliant kissing booth idea, no doubt." Seto snorted.

"It's not first place."

"So what? It's not last place, either. Third place is perfectly respectable."

"Says you."

"Let's not forget who came in third place in Battle City."

"I really don't need the one who came in fourth lecturing me on that, thank you," Seto countered, just barely smirking, or was that a smile? It was too hard for Jou to tell.

"Well…whatever," Jou finished lamely, walking slowly over to where Seto was sitting on his bed. He just stood there for a few moments, having a staring contest, before he sat down next to he brunette. "So…" Jou began awkwardly, suddenly feeling very out of place on the perfectly made bed, in the middle of the spotless master bedroom.

"So?"

"I'm surprised." Seto seemed a bit taken aback by the soft-spoken comment. The blonde elaborated, "I mean, you haven't blamed me yet for losing. I thought that'd be the first thing you did."

"I see." Seto stalled, taking a sip of punch, noticing a bite of something else mixed in with the fruit juice. He decided not to worry about it for the time being. "You did well, Jounouchi, I can't push something on you that's not your fault."

"I do think that my kissing booth idea was a good one," Jou boasted, content with the fact that Seto had actually just complimented him. Maybe it really was the season of miracles.

"Yes…even if it was a bit awkward for me." Seto shook his head, swirling around the champagne glass in his hand before taking a long sip.

"We make a pretty good team," Jou grinned, enjoying the way Seto's face looked without the trademark scowl; it was handsome, even. He suddenly found himself feeling very jealous. It didn't seem fair that someone could be that rich, that brilliant, and that sexy to top it all off. Still, he contented himself with the fact that those deep blue eyes were fixed intently on him at the moment.

"Here, take this," Seto said as he bent down slightly, pulling a red box topped with a large gold bow out from under his bed.

"What?" Jou stuttered for a moment, his voice mimicking his heart as he read the tag on the gift: To Jou, From Seto. He knew that that sounded like a pretty stupid reaction for him to have, but he was new to this. He was sure that many other stupid actions would cross his path in the near future.

"It's a Christmas present…in case you couldn't figure that out," Seto said, echoing the words that Jou had teased him with the other day. He watched as the blonde rolled his eyes and then shook his head, sending blonde bangs falling in he face. He really did love watching those reactions. Jou accepted the gift and gingerly untied the gold ribbon, tearing off the glittery red paper. What the hell could Seto Kaiba have gotten him? Maybe it was some fancy new tech gadget, or some Duel Monsters stuff? If it was anything dog related he was going to punch him right there.

"What the…" Jou trailed off he pulled out what appeared to be an article of clothing. Unfolding the item, it all became clear, and he couldn't help but smile slightly. "An apron?"

"That pink one was ridiculous," Seto stated simply, watching as Jou slipped the thing on, looking down at the big red letters that read: 'Kiss the Cook'.

"Thanks. Although…I think that line is a bit corny." Jou always thought that the best gifts were ones that meant something; like an inside joke between the giver and the receiver, or maybe just something of sentimental value. It just made it seem more personal. It made him happy to see that Seto had gotten it so right so soon.

"Well…I think it's good advice," Seto drawled out, leaning in closer to the blonde, who was currently frozen to the spot.

He had given him a gift; that had to mean the brunette liked him, right? Now, did that mean he was going to kiss him? Or was he just going to pick a piece of lint out of his hair? Jou didn't have time to finish processing his flustered thought patterns before Seto closed in. Jou gasped as his mouth was effectively dominated, his brain not even registering the fact that he was being pushed down until he felt his back hit the mattress. He struggled not the spill the glass of punch that he still had in his hand before he felt Seto take it from him, throwing it over his shoulder. It shattered on the ground a few moments later.

………

"Um…did you hear that? It sounded like glass breaking."

"And it sounded like it was coming from brother's room, too…" Mokuba sighed. "I hope they haven't killed each other yet," he said before getting up to investigate, Yugi following closely behind in case he was in need of backup. "Seto? Is everything okay in there?" Mokuba called at his bedroom door, receiving no answer. "Hello?"

"That can't be a good sign," Yugi stated as Mokuba shrugged and opened the door, not quite prepared for what he saw a second later. Jou was currently perched in Seto's lap, pulling off the brunette's shirt and running his hands over as much bare flesh as he could, his mouth latched onto the taller one's neck. Seto had his hands on the blonde's hips and was clinging to him tightly, thrusting up slightly against the hot body on top of him. "Well…I'm glad no one is hurt."

"Mokuba?" Seto moaned as Jou found a sensitive spot behind his ear, only to snap out of his lust induced stupor a moment later. "Mokuba?!" Jou yelped slightly as he was shoved out of the warm lap he had just become so acquainted with.

"What the…oh…hi, Yugi." Jou blushed slightly to which his friend waved and give him a slightly lecherous smirk. Seto, in the meantime, had managed to halfway button up his shirt and got up to grab his little brother's shoulder.

"Are you okay? You shouldn't have had to see that. Do I have to call that therapist again?" Seto fussed over the boy, smoothing down his hair and checking his forehead for any signs of change of temperature. The last thing he wanted to do was screw up the boy's head even more than the last two kidnappings did.

"Look, I'm not scarred for life or anything. Actually…I'm really, really happy! This is exactly what I wanted to happen!"

"Yeah! This is great!" Yugi smiled, blushing slightly when Mokuba winked at him.

"Yeah, I mean, it was just dumb luck that you two were paired up together for that contest. The rest I had to set up myself. That image of Jou took a long time to alter, too…I'm sure glad it paid off!" Mokuba beamed while Seto paused for a second to take in this new, surprising information.

It all made sense now…that picture of Jou that was so flawlessly done, it could only be the work of a Kaiba. And, he was guessing that the chocolate flavored lube that Jou had received had come from Mokuba too…although he didn't really want to think about how the boy had managed to get his hands on that.

"I see," Seto smiled and released his hold on the boy, standing up.

"Yeah! It's my Christmas present to both of you!" Mokuba beamed and Seto crossed his arms.

"Really? Can I exchange it for store credit?"

"Hey!" Jou shouted indignantly from his current position on the tousled bed sheets.

………

"Look who we got to come downstairs!" Mokuba called to the other members of the party as he made his way down the stairs, Yugi, Jou, and Seto following him.

"If it isn't the priest!" Bakura slung and arm around the taller one's neck, grinning at him with sharp, pointy teeth. "Did you have fun up there?"

"Get off me," Seto glared daggers at him and tried to shrug the demented spirit off, but Bakura was not deterred.

"Hmm…is that a hickey?" Bakura questioned running his hands over the bright red, raw spot on the man's neck, grinning when he heard the sharp intake of breath. "Good job, Hoover." Bakura nudged Jou in the ribs before walking off and laughing quietly at his own joke.

"Well…um, look, it's almost midnight!" Jou exclaimed as he noticed all eyes were on him and his recent make out partner. "We should open up presents."

"Okay, that's a good idea!" Anzu agreed. Everyone had already agreed in advance to exchange gifts at the party, and now was as good a time as any. Mokuba hurriedly huddled under the tree and began unwrapping a few of his many presents, mostly from Seto, while Yugi joined him. Anzu was the first one in the group to finish passing out all her gifts.

"Anzu, you shouldn't have," Jou said as she handed him a package, opening it up to reveal what was inside. "Ah…tube socks. Thanks."

"Oh, Seto! Open up mine next!" Otogi grinned wickedly and Seto eyed the package he had been handed warily.

"Is it safe for little children to see?" Seto questioned, taking a glance over at Mokuba.

"I'm not a little kid!" Mokuba protested, but quickly shut up as he discovered another one of the CDs he had wanted.

"Would you stop and just open it? I promise, it doesn't vibrate or anything."

"I appreciate that." Seto shook his head an opened up the large box, pulling out a large, fluffy article of clothing.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jou groaned as he realized what Seto had pulled out of the box, the source of much humiliation and annoyance in Jou's life.

"A dog suit," Seto stated plainly, unable to hide the underlying amusement in his voice. Jou was about to say something smart when Seto turned a searing blue gaze on him, effectively shutting him up. Yeah, he supposed this might work out. Even if it didn't last that long, he was sure he could look forward to some really heated sex in the near future. He'd have to try and remember where he hid that lube.

"Well, I figured you probably need it more than I do now," Otogi winked, only to dodge a punch a second later from Jou.


End file.
